The invention relates quite generally to a motor vehicle roof that can be made in the form of a sliding roof and/or a sliding-lifting roof. In such a motor vehicle roof, a cover is provided that is guided on lateral guide rails that can be lowered at its rear end from a position closing an opening in a fixed roof part by a mounting mechanism, such as a tilt-out mechanism, and then slid underneath the fixed roof part or, optionally, can be tilted upwardly so that its rear end is disposed above the fixed roof part, and wherein both sides of the cover are provided with a front and a rear hold-down device near the front and rear edge of the cover, each hold-device also interacting with guideways on the guide rails for positionally aligning the cover relative to the fixed roof part in the closed position of the cover.
A motor vehicle sliding-lifting roof of the type mentioned above is known, for example, from U.S. Pat. No. 4,647,104. To align the cover and the tilt-out mechanism relative to a drive mechanism in the closed position of the cover, i.e., in the so-called zero position setting in a manner not shown or described in the indicated patent or otherwise publicly known, previously an adjustment pin was used that goes through the tilt-out mechanism and interacts with suitable engagement parts on the cover.
Such an opening going through the tilt-out mechanism weakens it so that the mechanism must be dimensioned accordingly. Furthermore, difficulties arise when such a mechanism is used in a sliding roof constructed to be flat and in which the tilt-out mechanism is to occupy as little space as possible in height. Still greater difficulties result in sliding roofs with a sliding inside roof headliner that is moved as a function of the movement of the cover of the sliding roof, for which purpose the sliding inside roof headlining may be, for example, slaved to the cover by a rack and pinion and toothed wheel gear that also must be placed near the tilt-out mechanism.